History · Big Bend

Big Bend’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Big Bend. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from the U.S. Census

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 33 to 36 (+9%).

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Big Bend yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Be one of the first

Start Big Bend’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Bend’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from Big BendWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Big Bend.Meet them →
By decade

Big Bend, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Big Bend is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Big Bend has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Independence Congregational Church in Liberty, 16.2 miles away.

Big Bend and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Big Bend. Tap a dot.

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Independence Congregational Church’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Big Bend?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Big Bend’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Big Bend, NDMountrail CountyView boundary

Nearby

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Big Bend is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01